Child's Tool Chest: Museum Object and Cultural History
Child's Tool Chest: date made: 1911 - 1924. maker: R. Bliss and Co.. Object Name: Chest, Tool.
The object in the museum catalogue
As illustrated in this child's tool chest from the early 20th century, children frequently encountered their society's gender expectations at a young age. The tool chest from R. Bliss & Co. declared carpentry to be boys' work. It came with a hinged lid and a sliding, removable top tray. Inside is a colored picture of boys building a house under a banner that reads "BLISS UNION TOOL CHESTS FOR BOYS." R. Bliss & Co., established in 1845, started as a tool company, making wooden screws and clamps for piano and cabinetmakers, before it became a leading manufacturer of toys by the turn of the 20th century.
Materials, dates and provenance
- date made: 1911 - 1924
- maker: R. Bliss and Co.
- Object Name: Chest, Tool
- Object Name: chest, tool, child's
- Other Terms: Chest, Tool; Toys
- Physical Description: wood (overall material)
- Physical Description: metal (overall material)
- Physical Description: paint (overall material)
- Physical Description: paper (overall material)
- Physical Description: ink (overall material)
- Measurements: overall: 13 in x 17 in x 9 in; 33.02 cm x 43.18 cm x 22.86 cm
- Place Made: United States: Rhode Island, Providence
- Subject: Carpentry
- Subject: Toys
- Subject: Hand Tools
- Subject: Boys
- ID Number: 1977.1101.0167
- accession number: 1977.1101
- catalog number: 1977.1101.0167
- Credit Line: John R. Gerwig, Jr.
- Data Source: National Museum of American History
Sources and reuse
Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.
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